The "Girl Next Door" is Cliche for a Reason

Chapter 22: Wedding Bells

It was a few days before the wedding and Nate was spending much more time at Lexi's place. Her grandma was still in the hospital, but she was hopefully still going to be able to come to the wedding and they were doing what they could to help prolong the time she had. Nate came with Lexi to visit her in the hospital and had also been helpful in calming her mom down with all of the wedding details. It happened to help that Nate tended to bring desserts his dad had made for both Steve and her mom.

"How is the calculus homework coming along?" Nate asked from Lexi's desk.

"I think I have figured out the last problem," Lexi answered from her favorite chair, biting her pencil. Nate turned to look at her and tried to hide his smile before going back to his homework. When they finished studying, Lexi went to bring the two of them food. Steve had taken Clara and Luci out so that they could all relax a bit and get away from the wedding. Lexi had warmed up the food more than necessary, carrying them in the tray so that she wouldn't burn her hands. She took a spot on her desk, next to Nate's homework and winked at him once he looked up.

"Shouldn't we eat the food before it gets cold?" He questioned with a smirk, rolling his chair back and moving his homework so that she could sit in front of him.

"I may have heated it an extra minute so that we could have a bit more time before eating," Lexi responded with another wink. She played with his hair he was starting to grow out, but neither of them made a move to close the distance between them. "So... when do I get to score a touchdown?"

Nate quickly rolled back away from her, the chair tipping once it hit carpet. He managed to catch himself, but his face was flushed, and his eyes were wide. "What did you ask?"

"You heard me," she challenged, but his cheeks just turned a deeper red. "You just always stop things short and not that I want to right now, but I wouldn't mind being a bit more physical."

"Alexandra... we haven't even said I love you yet, we don't need to be more physical. It's only been six months anyways and I was personally planning on waiting until I was at least legally an adult," Nate tried to explain. Lexi couldn't help but smile at him. She got up from the desk and cautiously took a seat on his lap. She kissed his cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're sweet," Lexi told him, happy when he wrapped his arms around her. "You still surprise me star quarterback. I didn't mean we had to now, I just wanted to know when you would stop cutting me off."

"Good, I like to keep things interesting," he joked. "I still wouldn't mind making out with you if you wanted to do that right now."

Lexi got off his lap, laughing, but took his hand and led him to the bed.

The couple had fallen asleep, curled up together on the bed two nights before the wedding. They had stayed up late together the prior night to study for their calculus and history exams and went to close their eyes for a moment on Lexi's bed. Clara found them and flipped out, but Steve passed by just as Clara saw them and got her to calm down.

"The kids are just sleeping. I woke up to get a glass of water in the middle of the night and they were on video chat studying at 2 in the morning," Steve whispered, leading her away from the door. "The door is even open so they're not planning on doing anything. Let them get some rest and I can get them once dinner is ready. Just breathe, love."

"Sorry, I've already had her taken away once, I don't want to lose her again. It's been awhile since I've had to deal with her and a boy and just all of the stress of the wedding..."

"Breathe Clara." She couldn't help but smile at the way he said her name in an accent. Clara nodded then went to check on Luci. Steve double checked on the teenagers to make sure they were actually asleep and recognized Lexi's faint snoring that only grew louder the more tired she was.